In Madina’s* community in Chad, she tells us, excision – otherwise known as female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C) – ‘was considered a social act, a rite of passage, a change of state from adolescence to adulthood, and therefore a means of controlling female sexuality, ensuring virginity at marriage and fidelity thereafter.
‘It was important for every honest woman to be cut,’ explains Madina, ‘and even better if it was carried out by a great cutter, a woman recognised for her experience, like me.’
What is female genital mutilation or cutting?
FGM/C refers to the total or partial removal of the external female genitalia, or to any other modification or mutilation of the female genitalia that is performed for non-medical reasons. It’s a practice that occurs in many parts of the world, including some countries in West Africa.
Around the world right now, an estimated 230 million girls and women aged between 15 and 49 years old are believed to have undergone some form of female genital mutilation.
It is mostly carried out on girls between birth and 15 years old and the UN describes it in an interagency statement like this:
‘Seen from a human rights perspective, the practice reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes, and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women.
Female genital mutilation is nearly always carried out on minors and is therefore a violation of the rights of the child.
The practice also violates the rights to health, security and physical integrity of the person, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to life when the procedure results in death.’